Battle on the Iron Range: Between a Cliff and a Hard Place

US miner Cleveland-Cliffs said Monday the courts handed it the breakthrough it wanted at a site rich with iron ore resources in Minnesota. The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware has reaffirmed the 2017 Cliffs acquisition of land located in Nashwauk, Minnesota, and the ruling resolved the land dispute in favor of Cliffs and Glacier Park Iron Ore Properties, the miner said in a statement Monday. Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves said on Friday he was determined to fight “until hell freezes over” for the land to be awarded to Cliffs, allowing the company to hold onto the resources as Mesabi Metallics progressed a project on-site. The CEO told Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton two years ago he planned for development on site, including a metallics plant. “With that, Cliffs expects to be able to utilize the acquired real estate interests to implement a financially sustainable plan for the site,” the latest statement Monday on the ruling said. The court determined Mesabi Metallics’ lease rights terminated on October 31, 2017, when it failed to exit bankruptcy by such date, and properties acquired by Cliffs include parcels that were previously leased by Glacier Park to Mesabi Metallics, Cliffs said. Cliffs,… continue reading